Building-block and wall.



No. 773,493. PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904. O. GELHAAR. BUILDING BLOCK ANDWALL.

' APPLICATION FILEQ) APR. 1e. 1904. no MODEL. I Q Q UNITED STATESPatented October 25, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO GELHAAR, OF MILWAUKEE, INISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL BUILDINGBLOCK COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPO- RATION OF WISCONSIN.

BUILDING-BLOCK AND WALL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 773,493, dated October25, 1904:.

Application filed April 18, 1904. Serial No. 203,569. (No model.)

To ctZZ Hill/077% it may concern.-

Be it known that I, O'r'ro GELHAAR, a citizen of the United States,residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofVlisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBuilding-Blocks and Walls, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a partthereof.

This invention relates to building-blocks made of concrete or similarmaterial and to walls constructed of such blocks. Its main object is toprovide blocks of a shape which can be easily molded to resemble anydesired 5 material such as brick, smooth or rough stone, and the likeand readily laid in regular courses to form substantial walls withsymmetrically broken joints and internal airspaces.

It consists in certain novel features of construction and in thepeculiar arrangement of the blocks to form walls, as hereinafterparticularly described, and pointed out in the claims.

5 In the accompanying drawings like letters designate the same parts inthe several figures.

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of a course of blocks constructed andarranged according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a course inwhich the blocks are arranged to break joints at the ends with theblocks as arranged in Fig. 1; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of apiece of wall in which a corner is turned, illustrating the arrangementof the blocks as they are laid in a number of horizontal courses oneupon another.

The blocks a a of which an ordinary straight wall is mainly constructedare each formed at one end with a transverse projection b and at theother end with an inwardly-extended transverse abutment or bearing-facec and between the ends with an inwardly-projecting longitudinal abutmentor bearing-face (Z, extending vertically across and parallel with theinner face of the block. The inside corners of the blocks are preferablyrounded, as shown.

The projections Z), which are formed substantially-at right angles tothe body of the blocks,.are approximately equal in length to thethickness of the wall for which they are 5 designed, less the thicknessof the blocks through the aloutments (Z, which are located about midwaybetween the ends of the blocks.

In the construction of a wall with these blocks they are laid inhorizontal courses, one 5 5 course upon another, so as to regularlybreak joints at the ends, as shown in Fig. 8. In each course the insideblocks are reversed with relation to the outside blocks, so that the endprojections b of the blocks on each 6 side of the wall will extendacross the interv mediate space to the opposite abutments (Z of theblocks on the other side of the wall,

and the vertical end joints on one side will con sequently alternatewith those on the other 5 side of the wall. To turn or form a corner,two slightly-modified forms of blocks a and a" are provided. The outerblock a is like the standard block, except that its right-angled endprojection Z is made somewhat longer 7 than the projection Z of thestandard block and is located at a distance from its intermediateabutment (Z corresponding to the thickness of the wall, thus making theblock somewhat shorter than the standard block. The inner 7.5 block a"is like the standard block, except that the end opposite its projectionZ) is shorter, its length from its intermediate abutment (Z being suchthat it will when arranged as shown in the drawings terminate against orclose to the abutment (Z of the associated outer corner-block a. Insuccessive courses the arrangement of these corn er-blocks a and a" isreversed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that the projection Z) willalternate with the 8 5 bodies of the blocks, and the joints between theends of the blocks in each course will alternate with the joints betweenthe ends of the blocks in the adjoining course or courses, as shown inFig. 3. The blocks are all bound together by cement or mortar applied totheir adjoining faces, as indicated in the several figures, by thenarrow spaces between the blocks.

It will be observed that by the reversed arrangement of the blocks insuccessive courses the end projections 7) of the blocks on each side ofthe wall in each course are made to overlap the corres ionding endprojections of the blocks on the other side of the wall in the precedingcourse, thus binding the inner and outer parts of the wall securelytogether.

By the arrangement of the blocks as herein shown and described a wallformed with vertical air spaces or passages e e.

The blocks may be molded on the outside to imitate brickwork, dressed orrock-faced stone, and the like of any desired color.

Various changes in minor details of construction and arrangement may bemade to adapt the block to varying conditions and requirements withoutdeparting from the principle and intended scope of the invention.

I claim 1. A building-block having a transverse projection at one endonly and an inwardlyprojecting abutment on its inner face between itsends, and shorter than the length of the end projection, the endprojection being approximately equal in length to the thickness of thewall for which designed less the thick ness of the block through saidabutment, substantially as described.

2. A building-block having an inwardlyextending projection at one endonly, an in wardly-extended transverse bearing-face at the opposite endand an inwardly-projecting abutment between the ends, shorter than thelength of the end projection, the end projection being approximatelyequal in length to the thickness of the wall for which designed less thethickness of the block through said abutment, substantially asdescribed.

3. A building-block havinga transverse projection at one end and aninwardly-projecting abutment on its inner face between its ends, thetransverse end projection being located at a distance from said abutmentcorresponding approximately to the thickness of the wall for which it isdesigned, substantially as described;

et. A building-block having a transverse projection at one end and aninwardly-projecting abutment on its inner face between its ends, thedistance between said abutment and the end of the block opposite thetransverse projection being less than the distance between said abutmentand the transverse projection and such that when positioned in a wall,at its corner, the short end of the block will terminate at theintermediate abutment 01'' an associated outer corner-block,substantially as described.

5. A wall composed of blocks, each having a transverse projection at oneend only and an in wardl y-projecting abutment between the ends on oneside, laid in courses with the blocks on the inner and outer sides ofeach course reversed and breaking joints at the ends and inclosingintermediate spaces, the transverse end projections of the blocks oneach side of the wall being approximately equal in length to thethickness of the wall less the thickness of the blocks through saidabutments and bearing against the intermediate abutments of the blockson the opposite side of the wall, and the end joints in each coursealternating with the end joints in the adjoining course, substantiallyas described.

6. A wall composed of blocks, each having a transverse projection at oneend only and an inwardly-projecting abutment between the ends on oneside, laid in courses with the blocks on the inner and outer sides ofeach course reversed and breaking joints at the ends and inclosingintermediate spaces, the transverse projections of the blocks on eachside of the wall being approximately equal in length to the thickness ofthe wall less the thickness of the blocks through said abutments andbearing against the intermediate abutments ot' the blocks on theopposite side of the wall, and the end joints in each course alternatingwith the end joints in the adjoining course, the outer corner-block ofthe wall ha\"ing the transverse end projection spaced fromthe-inwardly-projecting abutment a distance corresponding approximatelyto the thickness of the wall, and the inner cornerblock having its endnext to its abutment at a distance from the abutment-less than the distance between the abutment and the transverse end projcction and suchthat the short end of the block will terminate at the intermediateabutment of the associated outer cornerblock in the wall, substantiallyas described.

In witness whereof 1 hereto aflix my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

' OTTO (JrELHAAR. Witnesses:

Uni is. L. Goss, BERNARD G. RoLoFF.

